THE JUNCKERS CARBON CALCULATOR

The sharp increase in CO₂ in the atmosphere is the main cause of climate change. In a new 2022 report The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPDD) documents that we are looking at a temperature rise of 2.5 to 3 degrees Celcius by the end of the 21st century unless the world's countries collectively accelerate efforts to reduce future emissions. It is crucial that we act now with a significantly increased, determined effort.

Climate policies have an impact, but we really need to put our foot on the pedal if we are to fulfil the climate action plans set out in the Paris Agreement. To prevent serious consequences, climate scientists advise the annual level of CO₂ emission must be reduced globally. To do this we need more than collective action - personal consumption habits must change too.

So, what will it take? At Junckers, we promote sustainable buildings, and our carbon calculator is intended to help you choose the most environmentally friendly flooring solution. The calculator is designed for architects, contractors, self-builders as well as private customers with the aim to discuss and improve the CO_2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) impact from construction.

Junckers wants to make wood a first-choice material - wood is the world's most environmentally friendly raw material, it represents a sustainable way forward. Wood stores CO₂ and therefore acts as carbon sink - it absorbs more carbon from the atmosphere than it releases. The environmental benefits of choosing solid wood floors are indisputable. The more timber we use, the more CO_2e we remove from the atmosphere which contributes towards mitigating climate change.

The calculator draws a simple picture of which materials we can use with no or little worry and those we should leave out if we want to build a greener world. 

Your individual emissions - carbon footprint - arise from the energy you use for electricity and travel, as well as the energy required to produce your food, products for your home and everything else you buy, whether it is made in the country you live in or elsewhere in the world.

Carbon dioxide equivalent or CO2e is a term for describing different greenhouse gases in a common unit. For any quantity and type of greenhouse gas, CO2e signifies the amount of CO2 which would have the equivalent global warming impact (GWP). We convert all the different greenhouse gases into an equivalent impact from carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas. Your footprint in this calculatur is in carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e).

To calculate the footprint for each floor type we used publicly available data based on Environmental Product Declarations (EPD). An EPD is an independently verified and registered document that communicates not only what a product is made of, but the manufacturing process and its impact on the environment. The results for the Carbon Calculator tool are based upon data from specific EPDs that measure the global warming potential (GWP) for the products, rather than using generic or theoretical data. Data is taken from the raw material and manufacturing stages for each product.

Our calculator is based on the following list of EPDs and data from cradle-to-gate including product stage A1: Extraction and processing of raw materials, A2: Transport to the production site and A3: Manufacturing processes

• 2-strip Parquet: No.: MD-19009-EN_rev1. Issued: 08-04-2022, variant 22mm beech.

• Plank: No.: MD-19008-EN. ECO EPD: 00001140. Issued: 28-02-2020, variant 20.5mm oak

• Engineered: No.: S-P-01509. ECO EPD: 00000906. Issued: 23-07-2020. Variant 22mm oak

• Carpet: No.: S-P-01825. Issued: 2020-02-03, Variant 6.5mm tiles

• Vinyl: No.: S-P-01350. ECO EPD: 00000890. Issued: 2018-12-06 variant Click 55 4.5mm

• Laminate: No.: EPD-SCP-20200238-IBC1-DE. Issue date 2020-12-01, Variant 8mm panels

• Thin-set Epoxy Terrazzo Flooring System: EPD10317 Issued: 20-12-2019, TRACI Results

Global warming potential, abbreviated as GWP, is a term used to describe the relative potency, molecule for molecule, of a greenhouse gas, taking account of how long it remains active in the atmosphere. The global warming potentials (GWPs) currently used are those calculated over 100 years. Carbon dioxide is taken as the gas of reference and given a 100-year GWP of 1.

Carbon dioxide equivalent (CO_2e or CO_2eq) is calculated from GWP. For any gas, it is the mass of CO₂ that would warm the earth as much as the mass of that gas. Thus it provides a common scale for measuring the climate effects of different gases. It is calculated as GWP times mass of the other gas.

Junckers solid hardwood floors provide the greatest reduction in carbon levels among all the floor types shown. But there is more to consider. Even though engineered and laminate floors are carbon negative, their life span is significantly less than for solid hardwood floors, thereby placing a greater burden upon raw materials resources and disposal. Floor types such as carpet, vinyl and LVT not only add carbon to the atmosphere, but their life spans are also shorter than solid hardwood, many of the manufacturers use carbon offsettting in their sustainability policies, and often their products cannot effectively be recycled.

Due to its versatility it is often very easy to substitute a Junckers solid hardwood floor for less sustainable products. Here are some examples:

• Sports, Activity and Dance floors - If, instead of specifying a vinyl sports floor finish, you use solid hardwood, e.g. Junckers 22mm SylvaSport Beech, in a 600sqm sports hall you achieve a net reduction of 15,400kg CO_2e. You are also using a natural, sustainable material instead of one derived from crude oil.
• Classrooms, corridors, lecture theatres - By choosing solid hardwood in place of carpet, for every 100sqm of flooring you are saving 1,940kg CO2e
• Commercial, Retail - By choosing solid hardwood in place of terrazzo, for every 100sqm of flooring you are saving 1,458kg CO2e
• Public Buildings - By choosing solid hardwood in place of vinyl, for every 100sqm of flooring you are saving 2,590kg CO2e

Many factors in the production process can influence the CO_2e footprint of vinyl flooring. However, it can be emphasized that oil – not a renewable resource - is an important raw material in vinyl products. In comparison, wood not only stores CO₂, it is also considered a renewable and sustainable resource, which explains the difference in CO_2e figures.  

To some degree, the same positive trend is seen in relation to laminate floors containing wood fibres and paper, as well as engineered floors containing a small part of hardwood, a wood-based intermediate layer, and a bottom layer typically of softwood.

In the production of carpets, great attempts are made to use recycled plastic, e.g., plastic bottles and fishing nets, but many carpet types are like vinyl based on non-renewable resources and will therefore release CO_2e to the atmosphere.